For a more detailed account, check out my first installment of the Outsourcing Conspiracy Rebuttal here.

To continue the series, based on The Outsourcing Conspiracy by Jon Morrow and Brian Clark of Copyblogger, here are a few solutions to their second “problem.”

Problem #2: Outsourcing Puts You in the Project Manager Role

According to the authors, the inherent problem with outsourcing is managing all the various projects along with managing the team members’ deadlines and personalities. The more team members you hire, the greater number of fires you eventually have to put out.

There are numerous ways to combat this problem so let’s start at the beginning.

1. Hire your virtual assistants or freelancers carefully. Speak to any potential candidate on the phone (or by Skype) and get a feel for how they conduct themselves. Do they sound professional and know what they can handle or do they seem wishy washy and unsure of themselves? Are you having a good conversation together or do you feel like you’re speaking to yourself? This simple 10 minute conversation will be your first insight into whether you can have a good working relationship with this VA.

2. Ask very direct questions about how they would handle potential problems. Make up an example of a problem you’ve had in the past and ask their opinions about how they would handle it. If you get someone who is unsure of themselves or unsure of the job responsibilities, you’ll be bombarded with questions day and night. Look for someone who is reliable and proactive enough to find the solutions to whatever problem you might encounter (without going over the boundaries you’ll establish).

3. Establish company or project procedures so anyone can step into the job and get it done. A whole manual could be written about this one point but essentially develop a very detailed outline or flowchart of what each outsourced job entails. If you’re outsourcing your content management, figure out an editorial calendar so the VA knows what types of articles should be published on each day of the week. If you require specific formatting for your blog posts, write it down. Same for any special reports you write. Keeping a written account of everything will eliminate any questions.

4. More established businesses can hire Project Managers to oversee the virtual assistants or freelancers. If your outsourcing budget can handle both VAs AND a project manager, that can truly free up a lot more time to develop more streams of income or a plan for how to best evolve your business. Keep in mind, however, that Project Managers or Online Business Managers will most likely command a higher pay rate so look at your budget carefully.

Outsourcing doesn’t have to be difficult if you take the time to plan and also to hire your virtual assistants carefully. There are many VAs who pride themselves with being proactive or able to resolve problems quickly and these are the people you want to hire. Don’t be afraid to ask if they consider themselves to be proactive. Be honest and upfront with your candidates about what you expect of them so there are no surprises down the road.

Lastly, any business owner who does not like to manage is just waiting for disaster to happen. No matter what your business model, business owners need to be involved and know what’s happening with each of their sites or businesses. By leaving the complete operations to a hired assistant, who most likely will not have the same kind of vested interest in the business, is simply foolish.

After all, what better way to draw someone in to reading your report than by suggesting a conflict in the title.

While they paint some gloomy pictures of the world of outsourcing, they bring up some very valid points about why outsourcing fails for people just starting their online businesses. And because I’m an optimist at heart, I’ve decided to tackle those issues and offer some ways to make your outsourcing experience more pleasant and effective.

Problem #1:   Outsourcing is Too Expensive

Yes, outsourcing your workload to a VA or a team of freelancers will cost you money. There’s no way around that particular issue, especially with the influx of new VA’s jumping on the work from home bandwagon. But developing a plan for your outsourcing needs can certainly help eliminate some unnecessary expenses.

• WHEN will you outsource? Working up a budget is an important first step to avoid going into credit card debt. Determine how much income you currently make and be honest with yourself and your VA candidates about how much time you can afford to spend each month outsourcing.

• WHAT will you outsource? Starting off small will keep your investment minimal and is the best way to test out your relationship with your chosen virtual assistant. While your ultimate goal may be to outsource 90% of your business, starting small will allow both you and your VA to develop processes and good communication while keeping the cost down. Try outsourcing online research, content management, email management, or concierge-type services first.

• WHO will you hire? This can be a daunting task, especially when a simple google search for “virtual assistant” gives you 1.25 million results. You can find VAs that charge $40+ per hour but you can also find those who charge $10 per hour. Keep in mind, however, that you usually get what you pay for. The higher price range usually means that VA has specialized or technical training and will need little supervision whereas the lower price range might indicate a brand new VA who will need additional training from you. What price range fits your budget?

• WHERE will you find your VA? To help sort through those 1.25 million search results, ask business contacts for referrals. But more importantly, find out where in the world your VA is located before signing any contracts. Communication is vital in developing a VA relationship but if you have a 10 hour time zone difference, keeping in touch will be difficult and deadlines might be missed if your VA has questions about a project while you’re sleeping. Also, outsourcing to someone in another country might pose a language barrier if this person does not speak your native language, which could mean costly mistakes to a project or additional training time.

• WHY are you outsourcing? Usually the main purpose for outsourcing is to free up your time to do something else. But you should have a plan for how best to use that newly found free time. Will you play golf or will you finish that long overdue ebook? Write a newsletter? Expand your affiliate program? Focus on your own affiliate marketing? Outsourcing can allow you to focus on whatever makes you money, which in turn could help pay for your outsourcing.

Just some food for thought, especially if you’re new to the idea of outsourcing. Hiring a VA is an investment in your business, and just like with any investment, careful research can give you more profitable results.

Tomorrow I’ll discuss Problem #2: How to Manage Your Team.

My personal offer this year is my Mini Podcast Setup package for only $5. Here are the details…

If you already have a wordpress blog installed, I will install the Podpress plugin along with a social bookmarking plugin AND validate your podcast RSS feed for just $5!

Then I’ll send you links to 2 short training videos showing you how to use the plugins. It’s really very simple but sometimes you need somebody to walk you through the steps. (Sorry but the plugins only work for Wordpress blogs.)

Why do you need these plugins? Great question…

Podpress offers you a player button for each podcast episode. This makes it real easy for your listeners to push a button and listen to your podcast on their computer. There is also a download option so they can listen on their mp3 player.

Social bookmarking is an easy way to get certain podcast episodes noticed. These plugins allow listeners to mark these posts as newsworthy, which hopefully will draw more listeners to your website.

This Mini Podcast Setup package is only available for the next 10 days (until May 20th), so act now before you forget about it!

If you want to see what the other fab Mom Masterminds members are offering for only $5, then head over to 10 Day Mother’s Day Madness.

To complete your purchase, simply fill out the form below. As a bonus, you’ll also get access to my brand new newsletter, Multimedia Business Tips, which launches on May 15th.

During the month of April my client work slowed down a bit. I wasn’t upset because after running crazy for the two months prior, I welcomed the break. But during this break I started to contemplate: why I was working so many long hours, isn’t there a better way to run things, how on earth can I develop a passive income if I’m so busy doing client work, why can’t I turn off the computer when the kids come home from school…

Basically, I was starting a pity party for myself.

But because I had more free time, I made a special point of joining the Mom Masterminds Breakthrough Call. This is a special Monday morning call for Mom Masterminds members to discuss a particular topic and how it affects your business. The course of the conversation differs every week, depending on the topic at hand.

Last week’s topic was about inspiration. What inspires you to continue on in your business? I felt especially pitiful as I listened because I had not been inspired - then or ever. I started my business as a means to make money, with no real plan in place. My success still continues to surprise me but was I inspired?

Nah.

Then the next question was: If you haven’t been inspired lately, where are you seeking inspiration? What? Seeking inspiration? I always thought inspiration was a surprise knock on the head, that you’d know it when it hit you.

How on earth does one seek out inspiration?

As luck would have it, I discovered my inspiration last week and I think it all started on Twitter (I can barely remember what I ate for breakfast just a few hours ago; don’t ask me to remember details from 4 days ago!)

Someone in my twitter stream posted a link to the Metromom’s Telesummit and, because I’m a sucker for checking out suggested links, I clicked. For two straight days you could have your choice of 18 audio interviews to listen to, all from amazing and successful women.

With 18 interviews to choose from and a family who wanted all of my attention, I was hard pressed to choose what to listen to first. But I was drawn to Beth Schneider’s talk about developing company processes to make your business run more smoothly. One of my client is in the process of doing this and it makes all the sense in the world so you can simply hand off an action list to a VA and go about making more money.

But did I - little ol’ me who doesn’t have a team - really need processes and policies?

You betcha!

Rather than writing out the same email to potential clients who ask about pricing, I need a standard form letter. Instead of figuring out a price and then ditching the email, never to be found again, I need a proposal form and filing system so I have access to the exact job specs and what pricing or special requests were made.

Shoot, maybe once I got my own system set up this could be a specialty to help other clients set up THEIR systems. Yes, the wheels were starting to turn…

I was gung ho…and still had 17 more interviews to hear!

Next I ventured to hear Traci Long, a branding expert, talk about how important it is to have a kaliedoscope plan for your business. Figure out all the different aspects you want to have or to offer in your business, no matter how wild they might seem, and then make a taskline for yourself so you know exactly what you need to do to accomplish it all.

Talk about getting slapped on the head!

Instead of just dreaming of bigger and better things, I’m taking action to make them happen. Granted, this was not “new” information but I think I was paying closer attention in this new and unfamiliar venue with all these brand new experts (to me, anyway).

And I think my mind and soul were ready to hear the information being shared.

Now I’m excited about work again. I’m not feeling desperate to fill the gaps in between my other clients’ work. I’m dreaming of bigger things for my business, different ventures I want to try.

You could say I’ve been inspired.

VA Tip of the Week: When work gets you down, delegate the boring tasks to a VA and look for inspiration outside of your comfort zone. Network with a new business group, visit new online forums, join a new social networking group. Stretch yourself and try something new.

It’s called information overload.

A lot of this information is from respected leaders in the internet marketing world who I generally trust and enjoy hearing from. But I have a way of clicking on these newest reports with the good intention of diving right in but alas, there’s a reason why I’ve dubbed my hard drive the “special reports graveyard.”

It will take some willpower but I’m not going to click on any more links…not a single one. This brain fogginess due to information overload is a sign that I need to re-evaluate my business and firm up my business plan, goals, and processes so that things run more smoothly. Yes, I would love to develop a passive line of income (heck, I’m not one to turn away more money) but first and foremost I have a responsibility to my clients to work efficiently and I need to take some time for myself to make sure my family time is not compromised.

Passive income can wait.

VA Tip of the Week: Take time to periodically evaluate what is working in your business and what isn’t. If you need help implementing changes to your business, then hire a virtual assistant.

Taking training classes and joining membership sites have multiple benefits for us as well as for our clients. Even though the cost may seem prohibitive for some classes, think about the end results and how you can use your newfound knowledge to benefit not only your current clients but any new clients who come your way. Learning a new skill allows you some extra marketing freedom to go after new clients and increases your value to your current clients.

A kind word of warning: do not try to accomplish too much too fast. Registering for classes or training that you won’t ever use will not benefit your business or your clients. Instead you’ll end up with lots of “stuff” on your hard drive and you will kick yourself for having spent the money and not using the training.

Believe me, I’ve done that and it’s no fun!

I’m playing catch up with my training at the moment. I took a Camtasia training class that I KNOW will really benefit my current clients and will increase my confidence in using that program but I fell behind after the first call. Since this week has started off slow, my goal is to finish watching those videos and start USING the tips and practicing more with the program.

Then I’m going to jump right into a new affiliate marketing program published by Jimmy D. Brown. I’ve read other info products by him and just love his approach. He makes me feel like absolutely anybody can follow his steps and be successful. And just this weekend I was IM’ing a good friend, telling her how I just HAD to figure out a way to start earning a passive income and low and behold, I got this email tonight!

But I think this program will also benefit my clients because whatever I learn and implement myself, I can then pass along this expertise to my clients. It’s a win-win situation!

When was the last time you brushed up on your skills or learned something new? There’s no time like the present to invest in your business.

Podcasters have dozens of interview files which can be transcribed and used on a website or blog. Interviews are often filled with keywords so posting a written version of your interview will likely bring in organic search engine traffic to your site.

How about celebrating your podcast’s anniversary by creating a “Best Of” product with complete transcript and audio files?

Webinar hosts can have their webinar transcribed for the attendees. Or sell it as an info product to those who couldn’t attend the live webinar. Bundle the audio recording and the transcript together for a more complete information product.

If you have a need for audio transcripton, please contact christina@multimediava.com for a price quote. Prices are based on total audio length.

Let’s face it: it’s really cool to connect with people in other countries, in other time zones. But nothing takes the place of a real life conversation. As I keep saying to my pre-teen, it’s best to learn how to communicate verbally before you put too much emphasis on emails or internet networking.

Each social networking forum has a way for you to gain followers, or friends, and while there are some limits, people are very successful keeping up with large groups of followers. You can learn more about someone’s business, what services they offer, and you can also offer your advice or services if the need arises.

But trying to hold conversations, even limited to 140 characters in Twitter, can lead to comments being missed or calls for help being ignored. Afterall, if everybody is trying to expand their group of friends, someone is going to get lost in the dust.

The lesson to be learned is that while social networking is a wonderful opportunity, don’t depend on it for your regular, human interaction. Even though we’re connected across the globe, we all still need a give and take conversation now and then. Someone to literally HEAR what we have to say.

Also, be careful how often you check your social networking sites. Spending too much time each day will eat away at the amount of time you have to work. And if you have hundreds or thousands of followers, you can easily kill an hour or two just trying to keep up with the different conversations.

Use social networking for what it is: a way to keep in touch with others in your field, to learn from the experts, and to promote your business or services…without spamming, please!

photo credit: b_d_solis

I’m very excited to announce that I was chosen to call in to the Dave Ramsey show for his special episode about Creative Stay At Home Moms Making Money From Home. The show airs on Monday, September 1st at 8pm ET. Click here to find your local Fox Business station.

Hopefully the show didn’t run long and my whole 5 minute conversation will be aired. Never in a million years did I think my idea of starting a VA business would get me a tv interview (nor do I think it’s all that creative, given the number of VAs popping up all over the internet) but I sure am happy that I bit the bullet and submitted my story. Just goes to show that you should take advantage of every free publicity opportunity that presents itself.

I am very happy with how the interview went, although I was sick with nerves the entire morning and couldn’t eat anything until I was done recording at almost 1pm. I’m not a natural talker and I tend to get tongue-tied, which would have been the ultimate embarrassment on national television. So I spent that whole morning nervous and practicing all my answers to a multitude of possible questions.

This week I’ll be analyzing my stats to see if my short appearance gets me any more traffic to my site…or maybe possible clients! At the very least, this experience gave me practice being interviewed and hopefully the next opportunity will be much easier.

Lesson for the Week: write a press release and get it sent out to local and online media.

What’s making news in your business? Do you have any back-to-school specials? Get the word out there about your business so more people can find you. You just never know who might come knocking on your door

This turned out to be the best advice I ever received from my boss.

Now that I’m working in the online world the same advice holds true. No, I’m not physically walking from office to office but I’m still working with many teammates, all of whom have different types of jobs, different deadlines, and different requirements.

And I learned the hard way last night that I still need to write down detailed notes in order to work most efficiently.

Taking the extra minute to carefully label your audio files can be a life saver. Include detailed information about the music/artist, interview guest, client name, air date, etc. Anything and everything about your audio file should be listed, either on the label or in a separate note that you can easily find at a later date.

Same is true for your written documents, especially if you have multiple drafts of the same project. Label each draft carefully with different version numbers so you always know which is the most up to date.

Remember that your time is valuable. Don’t waste it searching endlessly for a lost file.